Manuel Urrutia Lleó (December 8, 1901 – 5 July 1981) was a liberal

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

n lawyer and politician. He campaigned against the

Gerardo Machado Gerardo Machado y Morales (28 September 1869 – 29 March 1939) was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. Machado entered the presidency with widespread popularity and support from the major polit ...

government and the second presidency of

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...

during the 1950s, before serving as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

in the first revolutionary government of 1959. Urrutia resigned his position after only seven months, owing to a series of disputes with revolutionary leader

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 20 ...

, and emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

shortly afterward.

Before the presidency

Born in

Yaguajay Yaguajay () is a municipality and town in the Sancti Spíritus Province of Cuba. It is located in the northern part of the province, and borders the Bay of Buena Vista to the north. The Caguanes National Park (protecting swamp and coastal ecos ...

, Las Villas,

, Urrutia was a leading figure in the civil resistance movement against

's government during the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in co ...

. He was the agreed choice for the future president among

26th of July Movement The 26th of July Movement ( es, Movimiento 26 de Julio; M-26-7) was a Cuban vanguard revolutionary organization and later a political party led by Fidel Castro. The movement's name commemorates its 26 July 1953 attack on the army barracks on San ...

as early as April 1958.Richard Gott. ''Cuba. A new history''. p162. In 1957, he had presided in court over a case in which members of the movement had been charged with "anti-government activities". He ruled that the defendants had been acting within their rights. A year later, he visited the US to gain support for the revolution, successfully lobbying for a halt of weapons shipments to Batista's forces.The Political End of President Urrutia
Fidel Castro, by Robert E. Quirk 1993. Accessed 8th October. 2006. It was considered that the choice of Urrutia, an educated liberal and Christian, as president would be welcomed by the US.

Presidency

The Cuban Revolution gained victory on January 1, 1959, and Urrutia returned from exile in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

to take up residence in the presidential palace. His new revolutionary government consisted largely of Cuban political veterans and pro-business liberals including José Miró, who was appointed as

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

.John Lee Anderson, ''Che Guevara : A revolutionary life''. 376-405. Once in power, Urrutia swiftly began a program of closing all

brothels A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub ...

, gambling outlets and the national

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

, arguing that these had long been a corrupting influence on the state. The measures drew immediate resistance from the large associated workforce. The disapproving Castro, then commander of Cuba's new armed forces, intervened to request a stay of execution until alternative employment could be found. Disagreements also arose in the new government concerning pay cuts, which were imposed on all public officials on Castro's demand. The disputed cuts included a reduction of the $100,000 a year presidential salary Urrutia had inherited from Batista. By February, following the surprise resignation of Miró, Castro had assumed the role of prime minister; this strengthened his power and rendered Urrutia increasingly a figurehead president. As Urrutia's participation in the legislative process declined, other unresolved disputes between the two leaders continued to fester. His belief in the restoration of elections was rejected by Castro, who felt that they would usher in a return to the old discredited system of corrupt parties and fraudulent balloting that had marked the Batista era. Urrutia was then accused by the ''

Avance Avance may refer to: * Avance (Durance), a tributary of the Durance, France * Avance (Garonne), a tributary of the Garonne, France * Avance, South Dakota, a ghost town * ''Avance'' (newspaper), a newspaper published in Nicaragua, the central ...

'' newspaper of buying a luxury villa, which was portrayed as a frivolous betrayal of the revolution and led to an outcry from the general public. He denied the allegation issuing a writ against the newspaper in response. The story further increased tensions between the various factions in the government, though Urrutia asserted publicly that he had "absolutely no disagreements" with

. Urrutia attempted to distance the Cuban government (including Castro) from the growing influence of the

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

within the administration, making a series of critical public comments against the latter group. Whilst Castro had not openly declared any affiliation with the Cuban communists, Urrutia had been a declared

anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

since they had refused to support the insurrection against Batista, Hugh Thomas, ''Cuba. The pursuit for freedom''. p830-832 stating in an interview, "If the Cuban people had heeded those words, we would still have Batista with us ... and all those other war criminals who are now running away".

Cabinet, January 1959

*Prime Minister : José Miró Cardona *Minister of State:

Roberto Agramonte Roberto Daniel Agramonte y Pichardo (3 May 1904 – 12 December 1995) was a philosopher and Cuban politician. Education and Career He graduated from the University of Havana School of Law. Dr. Agramonte was also the Dean of School of Philosophy ...

*Minister of the Treasury:

Raúl Chibás Raúl Chibás Ribas (April 25, 1916 – August 25, 2002) was a Cuban politician and military officer who initially supported Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution but later defected to the United States. Born in Santiago de Cuba, Chibás spent hi ...

*Minister of Justice:

Ángel Fernández Rodríguez Angel is a given name meaning "angel", "messenger". In the English-speaking world Angel is used for both boys and girls. From the medieval Latin masculine name ''Angelus'', which was derived from the name of the heavenly creature (itself derived ...

*Minister of Health:

Julio Martínez Páez Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to: *Julio (given name) *Julio (surname) *Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation albu ...

*Minister of Commerce: Raul Cepero Bonilla *Minister of Labor: Manuel Fernández García *Minister of Education:

Armando Hart Armando may refer to: * Armando (given name) * Armando (artist) (1929–2018), the name used by Dutch artist Herman Dirk van Dodeweerd * Armando (producer) Armando Gallop (sometimes written as Armando Gallup) (February 12, 1970 – December 17, ...

*Minister of Government: Luis Orlando Rodríguez (Cuban) *Minister of Public Works:

Manuel Ray Rivero Manuel Ray Rivero (1924 – November 12, 2013) was a Cuban born engineer, politician and revolutionary, who was later involved in civic and professional actitivities in Puerto Rico. He received a scholarship from the Cuban Ministry of Public ...

*Minister of Agriculture: Humberto Sorí Marin *Minister of Recuperation of Misappropriated Goods: Faustino Pérez Hernández *Minister of National Defense: Augusto R. Martínez Sánchez *Minister of Communications: Enrique Oltuski Ozacki *Minister of Social Welfare: Elena Mederos *Minister of National Economic Council: Regino Boti Leon *President of the National Bank of Cuba: Felipe Pazos Roque *Secretary to the President and Council of Ministers: Luis M. Buch Rodríguez *Chief of the Navy: Gasper Brooks Avella *Army Chief of Staff: Colonel Jose M. Rego Rubido *National Police Chief: Efigenio Ameijeiras *President of the Supreme Court: Emilio Menéndez Menéndez *Supreme Court Prosecutor: Felipe Luaces Sebrago *Ambassador to the United Nations: Adis C. Garcia *Ambassador to the United States: Ernesto Dihigo *Delegate General of the President to the Armed Forces and the Maximum Leader of the 26 of July Movement:

Resignation

On July 17, 1959, Conrado Bécquer, the sugar workers' leader demanded Urrutia's resignation. Castro himself resigned as

Prime Minister of Cuba The Prime Minister of Cuba ( es, Primer Ministro de Cuba), officially known as the President of the Council of Ministers ( es, Presidente del Consejo de Ministros de Cuba) between 1976 and 2019, is the head of government of Cuba and the chairma ...

in protest, but later that day appeared on television to deliver a lengthy denouncement of Urrutia, claiming that Urrutia "complicated" government, and that his "fevered anti-Communism" was having a detrimental effect. Castro's sentiments received widespread support as organized crowds surrounded the presidential palace demanding Urrutia's resignation, which was duly received. On July 23, Castro resumed his position as premier and appointed Osvaldo Dorticós as the new president.

After Cuba

After leaving his post, Urrutia sought asylum in the embassy of Venezuela before settling in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. He worked as a university professor until his death in 1981, in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urrutia Lleo, Manuel 1901 births 1981 deaths People from Yaguajay Cuban people of Basque descent Presidents of Cuba People of the Cuban Revolution Cuban emigrants to the United States 1959 in Cuba 1950s in Cuba 20th-century Cuban politicians